Paper Roses
by Celestial Night
Summary: Bijou watched woefully as Sparkle continued to flirt with Hamtaro...Oneshot HamtaroBijou


§  
  
The Ham-Human Bijou watched woefully as Hamtaro strung more ribbons and streamers around the porcelain ribbon, Sparkle clinging to his side.  
  
Sparkle was never one of their friends, which upset Bijou the most. A few months ago, the large group of Ham-Humans were having a small picnic around the silky trunk of a cherry blossom, when, suddenly, they heard screams coming from near the river. Bijou remembered how they raced over to the river's edge, and somehow, that Sparkle had gotten herself into the very center of the gush of flowing water. Bijou remembered how Sparkle shrieked and declared rather loudly that she couldn't swim, and Hamtaro, being the wonderfully brave hero that he was, jumped into the water and bravely brought her to the water's edge.  
  
Ever since the moment Hamtaro had saved her from the water, Sparkle had clung to Hamtaro's side. She always smiled more widely when he walked into the room; she frequently complimented him on every little thing he did, and she often, much to Bijou's disliking, told others that she was Hamtaro's girlfriend. Bijou had always figured that Sparkle did this out of appreciation, a little praise for Hamtaro for saving Sparkle's life. But it got old after a few weeks, and Sparkle had slowly made herself Hamtaro's number one girl to turn to, stomping over Bijou in the process. Well, Hamtaro never declared that Sparkle was his number one girl, but he was only Ham-Human! How on earth could he have ever resisted her when she spent all day with him?!  
  
Bijou cast her azure eyes around the clubhouse. Today was the thirteenth of February: Valentine's Eve. The Ham-Humans were busy scurrying all about the clubhouse, making the place shine for their party tomorrow night.  
  
Boss, Hamtaro and Stan were busy hanging red, pink, and white-tinted streamers all around the room, hooking the paper ribbons with porcelain bows. Cappy, Panda and Jingle were busy cleaning the floors so that it was sparkling enough to eat off of. Dexter and Howdy were absorbed in assembling the large net of balloons that was meant to fall when Boss pressed the magical red button. (Bijou wondered if the net and the balloons were going to be secured safely, for Dexter and Howdy were standing on extremely tall ladders and were yelling frantically at each other about how the other kept messing up. Bijou thought that they weren't exactly focusing on getting those balloons positioned carefully enough as much as they should have been!) Sandy and Pashmina, with the assistance of little Penelope, were cutting lovely doilies out of rosy paper just behind Bijou at the table she was sitting at. Bijou's job was to go into town, get the decorations, buy the candies, and make plans to order the hors d'oeuvres and as for Sparkle... Bijou's eyes started feeling wet when she saw Sparkle standing right beneath Hamtaro, who was atop a small ladder, handing him nails and tape so that he could fasten the streamers securely.  
  
Bijou turned around and looked behind her. Her eyes starting to feel warmth from tears, she started to desperately search for a distraction. She looked ahead of her and saw Pashmina and Sandy smiling happily as they cut the beautiful paper decorations. Sandy being the girl smiling the brightest.  
  
'She'll have Maxwell to make her Valentine's Day even better,' Bijou breathed to herself.  
  
Bijou heard Sparkle giggle girlishly as she handed Hamtaro something, flattering him as he hammered in the nail. Tears starting to ice her eyelashes, Bijou picked up a few different paper napkins off the table and started to fidget with them frantically.  
  
Pashmina and Sandy were minding their own businesses as they cut out every little doily detail painstakingly. However, when Pashmina looked up and saw Bijou with shaded eyes and faint sniffles, Pashmina quietly put down her scissors and doily and nudged Sandy in the ribs. Sandy looked up at Pashmina with an irritated expression on, and Pashmina pointed her eyes in Bijou's direction. Sandy looked Bijou, a bit surprised, and then looked back at Pashmina for an explanation. Pashmina searched around the underground clubhouse for an explanation, and then her eyes rested on Sparkle. Pashmina saw Sparkle shamelessly giggle and flirt with Hamtaro, and Pashmina immediately figured out why Bijou looked so upset. Sandy followed Pashmina's stare, and it wasn't rocket science or anything, so Sandy quickly figured out the scenario.  
  
"Sparkle," Pashmina said quietly, also tired of Sparkle's constant clinging to Hamtaro, "why don't you help Sandy and me with these doilies?"  
  
Bijou's eyes slightly widened as she heard Pashmina speak. She'd have to thank Pashmina when she had the chance.  
  
Sparkle looked at Pashmina as if Pashmina had asked her to jump in a pit of fire.  
  
"Erm....," Sparkle started to say as she looked for a excuse to continue her flirtation with Hamtaro. "Well, umm...You see–aha!" Her eyes rested on Bijou. "Why don't you ask Bijou to make the doilies with you? She's doing so well with those paper roses."  
  
Pashmina and Sandy started to shift their focus and look at Bijou. Sure enough, using the paper that she was fidgeting with, Bijou had created several, multi-colored paper roses. They looked so elegant with their subtle simplicity, and it was amazing to see how quickly Bijou was making them. As soon as she picked up a piece of paper, she made a few speedy folds, and she had produced an extremely beautiful flower.  
  
Bijou felt pink on her peachy complexion as she felt the stare of the girls.  
  
"Wow...Those flowers are beautiful!" Sandy exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah, how'd you learn to make such pretty flowers?" Pashmina asked with wide eyes.  
  
Even Sparkle seemed to have been in awe as soon as she had seen Bijou make these paper wonders: Her mouth had formed a perfect O.  
  
Bijou opened her mouth to thank her friends, when the voice of another caused her to stay quiet and blush harder.  
  
"Those roses are truly beautiful, Bijou. You're really skilled at arts & crafts, unlike me, unfortunately," Hamtaro said as he stared at his thumb that he had constantly hit with his hammer. "We could seriously use more paper flowers like those at the party."  
  
Bijou's cheeks felt intense heat rising within them as she mumbled an inaudible thank you.  
  
Sparkle immediately became infuriated. "Well, of course, I can make flowers like those. But I'd much rather stay here and help Hamtaro fasten these streamers," She snapped, glaring evilly at Bijou. "I mean, I did take an ikebana class..."  
  
"You mean 'origami'," Pashmina told Sparkle as she saw the way Sparkle was looking at Bijou. "Ikebana is a form of Japanese flower arrangement; origami is paper art."  
  
Sandy giggled a little as Sparkle looked anxiously at Hamtaro. She felt so embarrassed as she looked into his deep, sea-like, sapphire eyes.  
  
"Well," Sparkle mumbled, "what I meant to say was ikebana. Why play with paper flowers if you can't even make a decent real arrangement? I'm a master at both paper and real flowers. I'm your go-to-girl." She looked at Hamtaro as she said the last part.  
  
Pashmina and Sandy rolled their eyes quickly.  
  
Bijou felt as if Sparkle had stolen the last bit of hope that was within her putdown heart.  
  
"Really, Sparkle?" Hamtaro asked with an eyebrow raised. He was the only one who didn't consider Sparkle a fake girl, therefore, he never used or considered her name in a sarcastic way. "Wow...You wanna know something, Sparkle? I'm really glad that you became our friend. I've learned so much from you and your stories about traveling the world as a star. You're a really talented girl..." Hamtaro explained, smiling brightly as he looked down at her.  
  
But Bijou didn't even give what Hamtaro just said a few seconds to settle into her mind. Quickly gathering up many sheets of colored paper napkins off the table, she speedily got up from her chair and raced out of the room, hoping that Hamtaro didn't see the crystal tears flying from her eyes.  
  
§  
  
The ground of the February month felt slightly wet from the storms of the previous months. Patches of snow lay here and there as a crisp layer of frost blanketed the grass snugly.  
  
Bijou hurriedly climbed out of the hatch door that lead out to the brisk outside world. Bijou's soft skin started to feel instant chills as she stepped out, the only warmth now inside of her being the sticky tears staining her face.  
  
She walked to the river that was directly adjacent to the hatch door, and she collapsed her legs onto the cold ground as she started to form more paper roses.  
  
"She's so fake," Bijou snapped as she placed a few flowers into the river so that they could float of freely. "Why does he even like her?"  
She had raced out of the room when she heard Hamtaro compliment Sparkle, and she saw tears drop onto her rose. As she frantically formed the roses, she finally admitted to herself that what she had for Hamtaro wasn't just some ordinary crush. And it pained her for she knew that Hamtaro could never feel that way for her, especially with Sparkle around.  
  
As she watched some of the flowers float on, she felt tears sting her numb legs. All she had on was her white dress that came a few inches above her knees, and that was no good when worn with the 46 degree weather. Watching the flowers go away, she hoped that she had gotten rid of the anger she felt for Sparkle and the damage she felt in her heart.  
  
"Sometimes," Bijou sighed to the flowers that were floating so far away from her as the water took them adrift, "I wish I could be like you. I wish I could just float away from here without a single care or thought about the world you left behind. I wish I could just go away from here..."  
  
"Why would you want to leave?"  
  
Bijou immediately recognized that voice, and looked slowly behind her, blushing slightly.  
  
Hamtaro came out of the hatch door, a worried expression on his face and Bijou's long cape-coat in his arms. Her cape was a long, pure white, hooded cloak that draped the ground when she wore it, and it connected the hood with a beautiful golden chain.  
  
"Bonjour, Hamtaro," Bijou said as she looked directly up at him as he walked over to her.  
  
"I–I thought you'd be cold, so I brought out your cloak," He explained as he rubbed his neck nervously. "You look really cold— here, let me help you with that." He bent over a little as he placed the cape around her shoulders. Bijou felt a sudden rush of red just explode onto her face as warmth was instantly draped over her body.  
  
"Merci," And she felt herself smile naturally when he leaned down to her level. Bijou noticed that he wasn't wearing a coat, and Sparkle was nowhere in sight.  
  
"You never answered my question," Hamtaro said. "The first one, about why you would want to leave, remember?"  
  
Bijou felt crestfallen as she cast her eyes down onto the frost- covered snow. "Hamtaro..." She suddenly found herself answering the question she was forcing herself not to answer. "Well, you know my family did a lot of traveling before we came here. I was just never used to staying in a long place for a long time...Perhaps, my wanderlust spirit is getting the best of me...." She looked up at him to see his reaction to her answer.  
  
"Believe me, Bijou," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I understand wanderlust spirits more than anybody, but if you have something...or someone...to keep you somewhere, it's pretty hard to leave."  
  
Bijou blushed even more furiously. "I wasn't really intending to leave, you know, my old habits were just taking over me again." She stood up gracefully, the cape flowing around her slim body.  
  
Hamtaro quickly stood himself up, becoming a few inches above her head. "So, you're not intending on leaving anytime soon?"  
  
Bijou was busy focusing her attention on the flowers that were drifting away. "Not anytime soon..."  
  
"Those flowers you made really were beautiful. When I left the clubhouse Sparkle was unfolding one, trying to figure out how you made it."  
  
"Why isn't she with you?" Bijou asked coolly.  
  
"At first she wanted to come with me, but I told her that it'd be foolish for two of us to go outside just to make sure you were all right," Hamtaro explained, red dots starting to speckle his face.  
  
"Oh..." Bijou continued her stare at the flowers.  
  
"So, you're sure that you're not gonna leave us anytime soon?"  
  
"I have no plans of it."  
  
"Good, then that means that I have no plans of leaving, either," Hamtaro explained.  
  
"Heke?" Bijou instantaneously looked at Hamtaro.  
  
Hamtaro had his head down, trying to hide the massive wave of red that had splashed onto his face. "Don't you get it? Bijou, I'd follow you to the ends of the–"  
  
"HAMTARO!!!" Sparkle's voice was heard  
clearly before Hamtaro could finish what he was saying, leaving Bijou with a confused expression on. Oh how she was hoping that Hamtaro would finally tell her what she had yearned to hear for so long! But alas, the two Ham-Humans stopped the conversation that they were having as Sparkle's head appeared through the hatch door.  
  
She emerged holding a gray jacket in her hands. "Hamtaro, I just realized that it must be freezing outside, and you silly little thing! You left your jacket in the clubhouse! Are you all right?" She asked as she gave Hamtaro the jacket that she had been diligently carrying. Hamtaro looked at her.  
  
"I'm fine," He simply answered. "And Bijou's doing well, too."  
  
Sparkle rolled her eyes as if she couldn't care less about Bijou's well- being. "Come on," she ordered Hamtaro as she promptly started walking to the hatch door. Bijou had just noticed that she didn't have a jacket on either.  
  
Hamtaro started walking after Sparkle, Bijou directly at his side.  
  
"You never finished explaining," Bijou whispered to him. "I mean, about you not having plans..."  
  
"Valentine's Day is your favorite holiday, right?" Hamtaro asked, putting on his jacket.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Then I'll tell you tomorrow..."  
  
And as Hamtaro and Bijou followed Sparkle down the hatch door, one white paper rose floated away from the group that Bijou had sent into the river, an orange paper rose closely following at its side.  
  
§ 


End file.
